Year 1983: I was a carpenter in Northeast China

After the two of them had carefully filled out the "Divorce Registration Application Form," the gray-haired man took it and examined it closely.

"Okay, the situation is true, and the paperwork is complete. Are you really sure you absolutely have to get a divorce?"

When questioned, Zhao Fengying and Xu Dashan quickly exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with complex emotions and unspoken words.

Zhao Fengying, in particular, turned to look at her son standing at the door.

Xu Bei immediately gave his mother a supportive look, silently indicating that she shouldn't worry and that he would take care of everything.

Zhao Fengying immediately replied, "I've really thought it through."

Xu Dashan turned and glared at Xu Bei. "Yeah, if I hadn't thought it through, I wouldn't have gone through all that trouble to get a letter of introduction!"

"Alright, in that case, I'll get on with it. Just don't regret it later."

After the man finished speaking, he took out two green divorce certificates and filled them out.

After filling in the certificate holder's name and date of birth, he took out a round rubber stamp, pressed it firmly into the inkpad, and with two loud thuds, stamped a large, bright red seal on each of the green divorce certificates.

"Alright, all done. You can put them away now."

The moment Zhao Fengying received one of the divorce certificates in her hand, she couldn't hold back her tears.

Xu Bei immediately strode inside and put his arm around his mother's shoulder from behind, silently comforting her.

Xu Dashan gritted his teeth, stared intently at the seal on the certificate, and flicked the cover with his finger. "Fine, now that I have the certificate, I can finally relax. I don't have to be pressured by you guys anymore!"

Zhao Fengying's initial sadness and complicated emotions were largely dispelled by Xu Dashan's words. "Xu Dashan, don't keep trying to pin this on me! I didn't force you! I just went to your workplace to urge you!"

Alright, this is a clean break, so we don't need to say anything anymore! Son, let's go!

Xu Bei naturally followed his mother's lead, and since the divorce was already finalized, he was even less inclined to pay attention to Xu Dashan. After saying "okay," he reminded her, "Mom, don't forget to bring the household registration book and stuff."

"Oh, I almost forgot." Zhao Fengying hurriedly went to collect the household registration book and other materials from the writing table.

With bloodshot eyes, Xu Dashan, seeing the mother and son's attitude, angrily said, "Now that we're divorced, shouldn't you hurry up and transfer your household registration? You can't keep using my household registration book! Today is the first, and I haven't even received my food allowance for this month!"

Zhao Fengying was momentarily at a loss, after all, where to transfer her household registration was a problem, and she moved her lips to speak.

Xu Bei, however, didn't think it was a difficult task. He immediately looked at Xu Dashan and said, "Give us a few days, and we'll send it over after the household registration is transferred!"

Xu Dashan had long noticed that his son Xu Bei had changed drastically, becoming the backbone of Zhao Fengying and her children. He also realized that his own divorce was inextricably linked to this boy.

So he said in a very assertive tone, "Fine, then I'll be waiting!"

Because of this little incident involving the household registration transfer, after they went downstairs and left the government building, Zhao Fengying watched Xu Dashan ride away on his bicycle and muttered to herself with worry.

"Son, you shouldn't have given us only a few days. Where can we transfer our household registration in such a short time? We can't just temporarily move it to your sister-in-law's house, can we? That would be disgraceful! Besides, the Zhu family wouldn't agree to that!"

Xu Bei straddled the bicycle, one leg on the ground, and said confidently, "Don't worry, Mom, I'm confident in my abilities. I'll go see my boss later and ask him for help."

Zhao Fengying asked with some concern, "Is that alright? We haven't paid back the five hundred yuan we borrowed from them yet."

Xu Bei, the boss, said matter-of-factly, "What's the big deal? It's not like we're not going to pay it back. Besides, I bet my boss is more than happy that I need something from him. You know I only sell large portions to him, and he's afraid I might quit or find someone else to do the work."

Zhao Fengying was immediately convinced. "That's true. But we must have a conscience. We should repay even the smallest kindness with the greatest gratitude. We can't do anything ungrateful."

"Mom, after all these years of your guidance, how could I not know this principle?" Xu Bei urged. "It's quite cold. Come on up, let's hurry back. My sister and the others must be getting impatient."

Zhao Fengying quickly responded, then helped Xu Bei sit on the back of the car with her support.

After making sure his mother was seated securely, Xu Bei immediately got on his bicycle and rode back to the store.

Sitting in the back, Zhao Fengying couldn't help but take out the divorce certificate and look at it, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.

Although Xu Bei was riding his bicycle against the cold wind, he could still sense the movement behind him, but he didn't say anything to comfort him or tell him not to cry.

After all, crying is sometimes a way to vent and detoxify.

Moreover, for a mother who has just ended a marriage of more than 20 years, crying is not necessarily all about sadness and grief.

As soon as the bicycle turned into the alley next to the store, Zhao Fengying quickly wiped her face with a scarf.

Therefore, when Xu Li and Xu Juan saw them return and ran out of the store, they only saw their mother's red eyes and nose as she jumped off her bicycle, and Xu Bei's calm expression.

"How did it go?"

"Did they process it?"

Seeing the sisters' worried and anxious expressions, Xu Bei said succinctly, "We're divorced, and we got the certificate."

Xu Li and Xu Juan each took Zhao Fengying's arm.

"Mom, that's great news! You won't have to put up with that old lady and Xu Dahong anymore!"

"My sister is right."

Although Xu Juan said this, tears were streaming down her face.

Xu Bei, who had just parked his bicycle, couldn't bear to see this scene and said helplessly, "You guys should hurry up and go inside the shop."

Xu Li wiped her eyes. "Right, right, let's go inside and talk slowly. Why bother freezing outside?"

Xu Juan choked back tears and echoed, "Yes, it wouldn't be good if someone saw it."

Xu Li suddenly remembered and said, "Oh right, brother, you left just a moment ago, and the postman delivered the package pickup notice."

"Really? The goods arrived pretty quickly."

Xu Bei glanced at the sky and calmly arranged, "How about this, I won't go in. You guys keep Mom company and have a good chat. I'll take the form to the post office to see if I can pick it up. Also, let's not cook at home tonight; I'll go to the state-run restaurant again."

Xu Li immediately agreed, saying, "Sure, let's eat out then, consider it a celebration."

Zhao Fengying naturally lost her appetite for cooking. "Alright, son, you go ahead. Your sister and the others are keeping me company."

Xu Juan immediately ran into the store without being told what to do, retrieved the notification slip, and handed it to Xu Bei.

Xu Bei glanced down at the thin white sheet, then stuffed it into his pocket along with the household registration booklet his mother handed him. He quickly waved, got on his bike, and rode away...